The Broken Path
by FanFicDude93
Summary: Here it is! The long waited arrival. We follow Simon through the Second American Civil War. What will happen? Who will he meet? Who knows. Story's better than summary. Read and review plz.
1. In the Army Now

**Chapter One: In the Army Now**

A haze of smoke and dust lingered in the air. Figures could be seen running through it. All over, it surrounded a field. The popping of rifles, the thunder from artilleries, and the screams of men falling could be heard for miles.

"Hold your line!" a hoarse voice cried out.

"Step lively boys, step lively!"

"Move! Move!"

Brigades of Union soldiers were ordered to cross the vast field. Many looked as if they just got out of high school.

"This isn't going to cut it. We need more men!" A major general shouted looking through his binoculars. "Bring up the 7th Brigade! I want them to push into the enemy's center and cut their line in half!" he shouted over the bombs exploding.

"Yes sir!"

All over the battlefield, moans of the fallen could be heard along with the sound of bullets slapping frail bodies of moving soldiers.

In the rear of the Union line, a fresh brigade marched up and formed lines of battle. A certain Lieutenant was forming his lines and making sure troops were in the right spot.

"Steady men. Steady." He told the troops.

"Lieutenant!" a sergeant ran up. "Orders from the colonel: prepare for action!"

"Very well. You tell the other officers down the line." Lieutenant Simon Seville ordered.

"Yes, sir." The sergeant ran off.

Simon stood in line, rifle shouldered in one arm, the other hung at his side.

"Heaven, help us." He calmly said to himself.

Then as if on cue, the Colonel spoke out, "85th California!" Simon saw him raise his sword, "Forward!"

"Forward!"

"Forward!

"Forward!" Simon said himself.

"March!"

"March!"

In unison, the whole line began marching in the direction of the enemy. Simon couldn't help but think, _"Have we really gone back in time?"_he never thought the army had to go back to the 1860's style of running things. Even artillery had to be direct fire. Things got so bad from prices for metal, that they had to cut back on making more advance weapons and made basics ones. I guess making a round shell in cheaper than forging intricate parts to a modern shell.

As they marched, the bullets got worse. Almost every two steps, there was an explosion not far from where you were at. And every second, someone was killed. Simon did what any soldier would do: follow orders. His regiment was part of the brigade that was supposed to cut the enemy lines in half, but now, it was the opposite. Enemy fire from both artillery and infantry were ripping his regiment apart. But still, he marched on.

They marched and marched for what seemed an eternity. Until, a captain shouted, "Hold your line! They're coming!..."

KABOOM!

A shell landed behind Simon and flung him five feet forward. He regained his stance and looked up only to a rifle barrel pointed at him, then…

BANG!

* * *

><p>"DAD!..." A cried echoed through the quiet house. A little chipette, only twelve years old, was forced awake by her horrible nightmare. She was breathing very fast, almost hyperventilating. Sweat ran down her face as she looked around to see her room.<p>

"Lilly?" a voice came to comfort the weary child, "What happened?" the lights flicked on.

"Mom…" Lilly ran into the safety of her mother's arms. She let all her tears flow down her cheeks as water in a waterfall. "Mom..." That was all she could get out.

"I know, honey. I know." The mother caressed her daughter's back, knowing what she meant. Even though they were not married, the girl's father was still a close friend. Hell, you can say they were between really close friends and lovers (what do you call that?). The mother, Jeanette, carried the crying girl to her bed, tucked her in and stayed with her for the rest of the night, fearing that the nightmare might return or she may have a nightmare herself. After a while, the crying became sobs, and then the sobs became silence, signaling that she was asleep. But Jeanette wasn't ready to succumb to the tiredness. She lay there, staring at the ceiling, wondering what became of her former boyfriend. Then her eyelids became heavy and she, herself, was fast asleep.

The next morning, the two were still asleep. It was around mid morning when Jeanette woke up and saw the sun high in the sky. But she thought nothing of it. It was another day, another reason to pay attention to the reports coming in from the front lines.

It was three months since Simon left to fight in a war that divided the United States for a second time in history. This war was about citizens not being heard and taken advantage of by the federal government, who placed unlawful taxes on the middle and poor classes, while leaving the richer class to get fat on profits.

Anyway, Jeanette made herself some coffee and sat at the counter looking over the newspaper. The first headline she saw was:

**WAR: CIVIL UNREST**

**As more federal forces enter hostile states, more rebel forces meet them along the Union/Confederate border. In other news, Major General Lovelace was appointed the commanding general of all armed forces in the east, Major General Thomas commands the central forces, and Major General Delores takes command of the west. All three met and agreed that only by moving troops in, will they force the enemy out. **

**But more and more are leaving the Union to aid their home states in the Confederacy…**

"Mom?" Lilly asked coming in.

"Oh, good morning." Jean smiled.

Lilly just had a bowl of cereal since she wasn't in the mood to fix breakfast neither did Jean.

"So…" Jeanette started. "How did you sleep?"

"Mom…" Lilly whined, "Can we please not do this?"

"Well, I'm sorry, but you've been acting like this since…" Jeanette cut herself off.

"Since dad left?" Lilly finished for her.

* * *

><p>With Simon…<p>

"Well, this isn't Fort Irwin, but it'll do." Simon said lacing his shoes.

"Yeah, just give us cheap guns and ammo, we're only fighting to save the country." Another lieutenant was joking around causing Simon and the others to laugh. Now, Simon's barracks weren't like other bases. He had to share a whole hall with the other officers.

It's been three months, and all the soldiers ever did was drill and drill. Many believed they weren't going to see any action, that, they were thankful for.

But like Simon, there was a good amount of troops just waiting to make a difference, or at least kill some rebs.

"So, you guys think we'll ever see the outside of these fences?" a major asked.

""Are you kidding, the day we get sent out is the day we…"

Then the alarm rang. But this wasn't just any old alarm. It was THE alarm.

"LETS GO! Fall in!" the brigade commander burst through the doors.

Simon got his gun and ran outside to form his battalion. All around men were running while trying to put their boots on and fix their shirts. Simon used his rifle and formed the men in a straight line. With what will he had left he sucked in his gut and prepared for what was coming next.

"Soldiers, Commanding General Delores orders: General Williams is being engaged at Quartzsite, Arizona. Now we are ordered to move with haste to his assistance. The 90th and 23rd California are already enroot, but are traveling by foot. We are the only brigade with access to motor transports. So get the lead of your pants, pack into the transports and move out!"

At this all the men rushed to their assigned vehicle. It didn't take long due to the fact that they drilled this over and over. When the last transport was filled, a total of 50, they moved out, and some looked out to see the base with no more than ten men guarding it. The rate they were driving, they could be in New York by tomorrow. But with great haste, a massive fuel source is needed. And that was something limited to them.

* * *

><p>Back with Lilly, she was still in her pj's watching something on TV since it was Sunday. But the show seemed to lose the spark that caught her interest, so she went channel surfing. Channel after channel, nothing seemed to be on. Until she got to the news…<p>

"_Earlier today, a convoy of what appeared to be around 50 transports passed through here carrying mainly infantry. Spectators reported that they were going too fast to even see the drivers face. Now where ever those boys are heading, God go with them._"

She quickly changed it and just watched whatever she had it on.

* * *

><p>On the convoy…<p>

It had been about two hours already and they had just passed Indio heading east on I-10 (honestly, I had to look at a map for this chapter), still going at a very fast pace. Then one private broke the silence.

"So lieutenant, what's your story?" a soldier from another regiment asked.

"It's a long one. Don't have time for it." Simon said with a straight face. Now, when a man says that, it's a sign to drop the subject.

They drove and drove until, guess what, they ran out of gas. Yes, they didn't have enough stored and they ran out, all the transports.

"Alright boys, we're walking."

They piled out with ease but found they were close to their target area. At the front of the column, the colonel looked through his binoculars and took out a map.

"It about another two hours from here on foot. We have to move with haste. There's no telling how much damage has been done. Sergeant, call the officers here!"

"Yes, sir."

In the rear of the column…

"Alright boys, pack lightly, it's a long way to Quartzsite." Simon walked through his ranks observing what the men were packing on their backs. "Leave that soldier. It'll only slow us down." He pointed to an empty gas can.

"But, sir. What if we come across a gas station or something?"

"Private, I like your enthusiasm, but we're not coming back for the rides. We're only heading one way." Simon pointed east. "No time to come back."

Then the sergeant came up to Simon out of breath, "Sir." He saluted. "Colonel Powers…(pant)…wants the…(pant)…officers up front."

"Acknowledged." Simon saluted back and ran off to the front of the column.

A few minutes later…

"We are about two hours from Quartzsite, if we march with haste and without stopping, we'll be there in one." Col. Powers informed his staff. "Scouts report no sign of the enemy from here to border. So lets get moving. Major Morrels, your regiment will lead the column. We stop for no reason. The longer we straggle, the more grounds the Rebs gain."

They dispersed and Maj. Morrels walked up to Simon, "Seville, you ready for a fight?"

"I've been waiting for one since we got to base."

Morrels just smirked, "Form battalions!"

Simon formed with his regiment at the front and waited for the commands.

"Battalion, shoulder!...Arm!"

"Shoulder arm! Shoulder arm!" officers shouted down the line.

"Left face!"

"Left face! Left face!"

"Forward!...March!"

"March! March!"

And like that, they were marching 'old school' style, way old school; columns of four, and giving commands vocally. Well, no one had a plan for this.

About an hour passed and the line was moving at a good pace, you could say. Then Maj. Morrels, saw a sign.

'Welcome to Arizona, the Grand Canyon State.'

"Alright boys, we're almost there. At the quick step! March!"

Then in an instant, the men began jogging. Some already exhausted, but had no choice.

About twenty minutes later, they came on the outskirts of their target town: Quartzsite, Arizona. They could hear guns going off and explosions. Smoke and dust can be seen from their position.

"Alright men. Load!"

"Load! Load!"

The only sound that could be heard was carbine magazines being loaded.

Simon overheard one private…

"Lord, help us."

_A/N: Hey guys and gals. Sorry for the MAJOR delay. School is a real #$%&. So here it is, oh and I'm planning on finishing up my other stories, although I am stuck on a few. If you read any, and have ideas, let me know. Maybe they'll show up in them. So once again, sorry for the wait. And plz review._


	2. Quartzsite, AZ Pt 1

**Chapter Two: Quartzsite, Arizona Part One**

Simon's palms became very sweaty. Jus listening to the sounds of an actual war gave him the spooks. They had marched for almost an hour and a half. The weight of fatigue beginning to overpower some recruits, many trying to stay focused.

"Battalion! Forward! March!"

Then, as a well oiled machined, their left foot moved in unison. Simon looked over his line and saw many scared faces.

"Steady men. Steady." He tried to reassure them trying not to sound too scared.

They remained in columns of four until they came to on off-ramp and now the sounds of guns came as if only two feet away.

"Halt!" the colonel shouted. Then a captain from one of the units already engaged in combat came up, he looked rather exhausted.

"Colonel, our lines are being pushed back. I don't know how long we can last!"

"Who's in charge?"

"Brigadier General Williams, sir."

"Inform General Williams the 29th California Brigade is here. Ask how long he can hold!"

"Yes, sir!" the captain ran off.

"Position the 73rd to the left, the 85th down the center, and the 79th to the right."

"Sir."

Simon led his squad with the rest of the regiment and formed a line in the center. There a few things giving them cover, like cars, few sandbags here and there, and debris from shelled buildings. They were locked and loaded, peering down their sights, waiting for the enemy. Simon walked up and sown his line, making sure it was strong as possible. The hot Arizona sun was being as harsh as it could get. All the men were ragged with exhaustion.

"Easy boys."

Then there was an explosion. A homemade bomb was thrown in front of the left flank and sent men flying back. One soldier got full impact from it. He held his ears, as all he could here was a loud ringing. He rolled around holding his throbbing head and looked at his hands, only to find blood on them. He became terrified and slowly got up, his vision was blurred and he wobbled a little. He turned around to see his fellow troopers were still in line, except for those that were blasted away, they were still unconscious. The ringing was getting more intense and every movement he made gave him pain.

"Steady men! Steady!" there was a cloud of smoke mixed with dust that lingered from the explosion.

"Sir?..."

Then, all in a flash, a wave of Confederate troops charged the line with bayonets and other blunt objects.

"Hold!"

Simon looked over to the adjacent regiment and saw the bloody conflict. He quickly looked in front of his line and saw no sign of an attack. He wanted badly to help the line in trouble, but decided against it. He was only following orders. Men in blue and gray clashed with one another. Screams and battle cries were heard, but the screaming overpowered as metal hit and pierced flesh. The sound of rifle butts hitting skulls cracked through the air and sent fear in the boys, on both sides.

Simon watched as the fight unfolded, but was brought back to reality as a roar of soldiers came clashing with his regiment.

"Fire! Fire god-dammit!"

Then it seemed, at that moment, that someone fire a round. Then in no time after it, more shots were fired. The sound of lead slapping bodies became the new dominant sound. Moaning from fallen soldiers could be heard in between the snaps from guns. Simon was forced down by one of his own as the soldier was hit and fell on him. Simon pushed him off and turned to see that the man had no face. It was completely blown off. Simon held back the vomit that was traveling up his throat and regained his stature. He took a single step and felt something being crushed under his boot. He looked down to see he was standing on a body, he couldn't tell who he was, the blood stained out the uniform. He held his rifle and aimed down, fixed on an oncoming soldier. He finger twitched, his mind telling him to pull the trigger, but his hand froze. Not until he saw the white of his eye, he forced his finger to squeeze and sent a bullet flying, hitting the enemy in the chest.

"FIRE AT WILL!"

Simon slowly lowered his gun to reload, as he did, all the other sounds faded out. He couldn't hear the screams, the shots, the explosions, or the sound of bullets finding their mark, all he heard was the 'click' in his rifle as he pulled the bolt back and rammed another shot in the breach. He raised it again, peering down the sight, and fixed on another target, his breath deepening. Still, all he could hear was his own breathing, then the sound of his gun going off. He'd taken another soldier down. But realized his line was in shambles. He quickly got to his feet, drew his sword, and formed the men back into a firmer line. As he went down the line placing soldiers, more and more fell, only to be replaced with more. He knew he was running out of men, but couldn't afford to pull back. Now, all three regiments were under fire. They were out in the open on an off ramp just barley getting into town, while the enemy had buildings and better cover. Simon looked around, assessing the situation.

"_No good cover, ready to be overrun, losing troops._" He thought and noticed the body count rising.

Then as he was ready to make a stand. The colonel shouted…

"FALL BACK!"

Simon turned as saw the backs of blue uniforms already heading back up the ramp. He looked again in the direction of the enemy and saw, through the thick smoke, the enemy retreating as well.

"HOLD!" Simon shouted, but only a few had heard it and stopped to see what the crazed chipmunk was going to do. He shouted again, but to no avail. He looked back to the empty street where the enemy once was and cursed, finally joining the others in the retreat.

They fell back until they were on the outskirts of the town and met up with the units that had tried to take the town before they had arrived. They saw many men laid down in rows, the ones that didn't make it, and many more who were wounded.

"Lieutenant." The colonel came up to Simon.

"Sir?"

"Get the men bunked in. We will make quarters here until further notice."

"Yes, sir." He saluted.

It was nearly dark when Simon's regiment found an open spot and set up their tents and had their wounded taken care of. Simon was in his tent writing letters.

Outside, men were around fires, reflecting on the day. Trying to find the better side of it all. So far, there wasn't any. But they still talked and joked around to get their minds off things. There was one, Sgt. Morris, a soldier in Simon's regiment whom he became quick friends with, was talking about how his life flashed before his eyes when the first wave of Confederates attacked.

"Yeah, well at least you seemed like you had fun." Another private said, Pvt. John. "All I did before I joined was go to school." He threw a piece of scrap into the fire.

"So how was it going from books to bullets?" Morris asked.

"It wasn't easy. I mean, in a book, the words are right in front of you, with a gun, you have to look way down the sight. It's like trying to find a date. You shoot and hope it hits something."

They all laughed.

"Well, before I joined, I was a mechanic. Owned my own garage. Had a good amount of money coming in. With the misses and all." A soldier everyone called 'Tech' spoke up.

"A mechanic? Why the hell you in the infantry?" John asked.

"They thought I wasn't good enough to handle sensitive equipment in the army. Bastards. Really wanted to be part of the engineers. Be in the rear with the gear."

"I hear ya."

"Oh come on! I'm glad I'm in the front lines. My grandpa fought in Vietnam, when I heard this regiment was being formed, I was the first in line." A snobby young recruit called 'Pecker' said. "And my dad…psh…the ass just left me and my mom, said he had to go and serve his home. Didn't think twice about leaving. Tried to make me go too, but mom didn't let him take me. He just turned and left."

Everyone just stared. Then Simon came out of his tent and joined the others.

"What's going on guys?" he said taking an empty spot next to 'Pecker.'

"Not much, lieutenant. Just telling back stories." John said swishing his cup around.

"Yeah, not like you missed anything, we're just trying to ease up."

"I know what you mean." Simon said staring at the fire, "Still shaken up."

"So lieutenant, Morris was saying some weird shit earlier about ladies." This got a chuckle out of the rest. "He said, how would it be, if women were able to reproduce without men?"

Simon just stared at him, then Morris.

"What?" Morris said, "I was just asking. Its not like I've given up on them."

There was silence. Then, out of nowhere, everyone burst out laughing.

"What the hell made you think that?" 'Pecker" asked,

"What?" Morris said again.

"If that ever happens, there won't be any men." More laughter emanated. "We'd become obsolete."

"That or one of the ladies isn't really a lady." This got the men on a laughing spree.

For about thirty more minutes, they joked around until the bugle signaled for them to turn in for the night.

"Well, get some shut eye boys. We might be in for another fight in the morning." Simon said and went back to his tent. Everyone filed into their own and bunked in. Some had a hard time going to sleep, thinking about the fight earlier, and the one coming tomorrow.

Simon lay in his 'bed' and stared at the top of his tent. His mind went back to when he shot the attacking man, stopping him dead in his tracks. Then went to Angela, how she looked at their wedding, and after she had been shot, and finally thought of Jeanette and Lilly. As he thought, he didn't notice his eyelids were getting heavy and he closed them. And fell into a deep sleep.

Simon was fast asleep. Dreaming sweet dreams. Then, out of the blue, an explosion woke him up. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. He got on his boots and hurried out, only to find the camp overrun with enemy troops. All around him, bodies scattered the floor. He went for his gun, but it wasn't there. He ran, dodged enemy fire and met one face to face. He aimed his gun at Simon, but Simon dove for the man and averted the shot, he had one hand around the barrel of the gun and sent his other fist into the jaw of the attacker. As he took the gun away, he was grabbed from behind and put into a headlock. His vision was getting blurred but elbowed the guy in the ribs. He broke free, grabbed the gun, and slammed the butt of the rifle into the other guy's skull. He looked at the limp form and continued making his way through the destruction, hoping to find more of his men. But all he found were wounded or dead soldiers. He quickly realized this was not a winnable fight. He was ready to fall back, maybe regroup with others, but as he turned, he heard a shot. He looked down and saw a red trail on his undershirt coming from his chest. He stood for a few seconds, then fell to his knees. He coughed up blood and looked around. He didn't feel anything except the warm blood running down his front. He swayed a little. Then heard footsteps behind him.

"Time to join your wife." That voice. That cold, dark voice. It was the same man that killed his wife.

"_Angela._" He thought. And finally, the sound of a pistol being cocked, then…

BAM!

Simon shot up into a sitting position in cold sweat. He was breathing irregular. He felt around his front, then let out a deep sigh as he felt no bullet hole.

"Just a dream." He said to himself between breaths.

The rest of the night, he lay there, thinking about what happened in his dreams. Getting up from time to time to look out, making sure his nightmare didn't become reality. He looked over the sea of tents and saw patrols, but that only calmed him down a little. He couldn't go back to sleep. So he wrote letters to no one in particular.

As time passes. The sun began to creep over the horizon. The Arizona sun already warming up the day. Simon was out looking over the town of Quartzsite. He noticed how quiet it was, so quiet, it would scare even death. He looked to the south and saw a gray line running all the way across town. He pondered a bit.

"Is that all the defenders?" he asked himself.

"Lieutenant." Simon turned and saw a man, but this man had a single star on his shoulder.

"General." He saluted.

"At ease. Just came to clear my head." The general pulled out a cigarette pack, "You smoke?"

"No, sir." Simon answered.

"Well, neither do I." he held the pack to him. Simon looked at him, then the pack, and took one.

"Thank you, sir." He held it with his lips.

"Yeah, well, a lot of stress these past days. A man can only think of how to relieve himself from it." The general lit his, then Simon's. "Yes, sir. No women around, so can't relieve it that way. Ammo and supplies are short, can't shoot it away. Might as well smoke it away." He laughed.

Simon nodded and took a swig. This was actually relaxing him. He took another hit and before you know it, he hit the butt.

"Damn, son. Looks like you need these more than me."

"Sorry, sir. Just a sleepless night." Simon flicked it away.

"I see. Well, get used to it. There's a whole war in front of us. God knows how long its going to last." The general said and flicked his away as well. "High Command wants every town we cross. Fucking fools. We do that, we wont have enough for a platoon. And Delores is on my ass, pushing for Phoenix. We could've bypassed this godforsaken town. Be at Phoenix, hell, maybe even captured it by now. You know what pisses me off the most, lieutenant?"

"What sir?"

"This war was started by rich sons of bitches. And here we are fighting for them. You know, war is caused by the rich, but fought by the poor*. I'd like to see them out here fighting for money."

"Yes, sir." Simon said with some bitterness.

"Before we can move on, this little dirt town has to be under our control. And frankly, that's pushing the limit." The general turned, ready to walk back, but…

"Uh, general, sir?" Simon asked. The general turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "How do we know the enemy has support?"

"Lieutenant, we were overrun yesterday, how can you question their power now?"

"Well, sir, we were caught at a disadvantage. They had the higher buildings, and better cover. We didn't have shit."

The general continued to stare. "What are you getting at?"

"Well, look there, sir." He pointed to the south where the line of gray was. "I've been looking and noticed they weren't there before. That line has to be thin. They're guarding the southern end of the town, and we met another line yesterday. Now look here." He pointed to the north. "There seems to be no one. The bulk of their forces are stretched to areas that we can get to. We can't get north from here. And if their line is that thin, they have to be the only defenders here."

The general, after listening to this, looked over the entire scene.

"Apparently, we thought they outnumbered us, but now, we outnumber them." Simon finished.

"Tell me lieutenant, what did you do before enlisting?"

"I was a teacher, sir."

"Yes, we might have a chance after all. Command is sending three batteries. They should be here before noon. We can flush them out, then send in the boys. What's your name lieutenant?"

"Seville, sir. Simon Seville."

The general just nodded and headed back to HQ. Simon just took one last look at the motionless scene and strutted back to his tent.

This was going to be a long day…

_*- This is a quote, not mine, but heard it somewhere. Credit rightfully goes to whoever said it._

_A/N: Hello any and everyone who read this. Sorry for the major delay. College is more than it seems. But had time to write and succeeded. I promise to not to wait forever on the next chapter. Also, I will continue this story and plan on finishing others as well. _

"_A thousand mile journey begin with a single step."_

_Don't know who said that, but it wasn't me. So SOPA, kiss my ass. I quoted it._


End file.
